Hooghly River

Coordinates: 21°55′N 88°05′E / 21.917°N 88.083°E / 21.917; 88.083
Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Hooghly River
Bhagirathi
Ganga
Rabindra Setu (Howrah Bridge)
Nivedita Setu
Vivekananda Setu (Bally bridge)
Sampreeti Bridge
Jubilee Bridge
Ishwar Gupta Setu
Gourango Setu
New Bhagirathi Bridge
Ramendra Sundar Tribedi Setu
Jangipur Bhagirathi Bridge

The Hooghly River (Anglicized alternatively spelt as Hoogli or Hugli) or popularly called

Baharampur and Palashi in Murshidabad. It is the western distributary of the Ganges.[2] The main course of the Ganges then flows into Bangladesh as the Padma.[3] A man-made canal, built in the 1960s and early-1970s at Farakka, connects the Ganges, flowing through Malda
, to the Hooghly (also called Bhagirathi) to bring the abundant waters of the Himalayan river to the comparatively narrow river that rises in eastern West Bengal.

The river flows through the

Baharampur, Kalyani, Tribeni, Saptagram, Bandel, Hugli, Chandannagar, Srirampur, Barrackpur, Rishra, Konnagar, Uttarpara, Titagarh, Kamarhati, Agarpara, Baranagar, Howrah, Kolkata, and Uluberia.[4]

The Hooghly has religious significance as Hindus consider the river sacred. The river also plays a major role in the agriculture, industry, and climate of the state.

Course

The vast majority of the water that flows into the Hooghly River is provided by the man-made

Chinsurah, Naihati, Bhatpara, Konnagar, Serampore, and Kamarhati. Then, just before entering the twin cities of Kolkata (Calcutta) and Howrah, it turns to the southwest. At Nurpur it enters an old channel of the Ganges, and turns south to empty into the Bay of Bengal through an estuary about 20 mi (32 km) wide.[5]

Abu'l-Fazl, describes that the river Ganga and river Sarwasati (Sarsuti) streams of lower Bengal had different flows. According to the footnotes of this book, the colour of the water of the Sarawasati was white, the colour of another stream named Jamuna was blue, and the colour of the Ganga was muddy and yellowish. From Kolkata the main flow of the Hooghly-Bhagirathi (or Ganga) used to run along the side of the Kalighat temple, Baruipur, Jaynagar Majilpur, Chhatrabhog and Hatiagarh. At that time, between Khiderpore and Sankrail[7] no flow existed. Presently, the stream between Khiderpore and Sankrail became known as KatiGanga. A channel had been dug at the time of Alibardi Khan in the middle of the 18th century. This happened with the assistance of Dutch traders, who also set up a toll point on the Hooghly river.[8] So the present reach of the Hooghly is the lower part of the historical Saraswati. Kolkata
the capital of West Bengal is located on the banks of the Hoogly river.

Map of the Hooghly River delta showing Sagar Island

Tidal bore

Hooghly River, Serampore

The tide runs rapidly on the Hooghly, and produces a remarkable example of the fluvial phenomenon known as a

Calcutta, and frequently destroys small boats.[9] A tidal bore which overcame the banks of the river in 1876 was reported to have killed up to a hundred thousand people.[9] The difference from the lowest point of low-water in the dry season to the highest point of high-water in the rains is reported to be 20 ft 10 in (6.35 m). The greatest mean rise of tide, about 16 ft (4.9 m), takes place in March, April or May - with a declining range during the rainy season to a mean of 10 ft (3.0 m), and a minimum during freshets
of 3 ft 6 in (1.07 m).

History

In its upper reaches the river is generally known as the Bhāgirathi, until it reaches Hooghly. The word Bhāgirathi literally means "caused by Bhagiratha", a Hindu mythological Solar dynasty prince who was instrumental in bringing the river Ganges from heaven to the earth, in order to release his 60,000 grand-uncles from a curse of the saint Kapila.[10]

In 1974, the Farakka Barrage began diverting water into the Hooghly during the dry season so as to reduce the silting difficulties at Kolkata's port.

Like the rest of the Ganges, the Bhāgirathi-Hooghly is considered sacred to

Hindus,[11]
and its water is considered holy.

Bridges and tunnels

Sunset at River Hooghly, Kolkata, West Bengal, India

The following bridges currently span the Hooghly/Bhagirathi River; listed from south to north (mouth to source), until the Farakka Feeder Canal meets the river:

The following bridges are under various stages of development:

The following tunnels are situated under the Hooghly River :-

  • CESC Tunnel - This tunnel is using for electric power transmission between Kolkata and Howrah. It was the first underwater tunnel of Asia. The construction of this tunnel was completed in 1931.[13]
Hooghly River Underwater metro tunnel segment
  • East West Metro Tunnel - The tunnel was completed in 2021. This tunnel is the first underwater river railway tunnel in India. It is a metro railway tunnel, connecting Kolkata to Howrah.

Economics

A ferry operating between Howrah and Kolkata with Howrah Bridge (Rabindra Setu) in background

The Bhāgirathi-Hooghly river system is an essential lifeline for the people of West Bengal. It was through this river that the East India company sailed into Bengal and established their trade settlement, Calcutta, the capital of British India. People from other countries such as the French, Dutch, Portuguese, etc. all had their trade settlements by the banks of this river.

The river provides a perennial supply of water to the plain of West Bengal for irrigation and human & industry consumption. The river is navigable and a major transport system in the region with a large traffic flow. For a long time, the Calcutta Port was the biggest port of India. Although in the past its significance had gone down, recently it has reached the 3rd position in the list of Indian Ports. The modern container port of Haldia, on the intersection of lower Hooghly and Haldi River, now carries much of the region's maritime trade. One new port will be built in the deep sea to reduce the load on Calcutta port.

Despite the river being polluted, the fish from it are important to the local economy.

Panoramic view of Kolkata from Howrah with Second Hooghly Bridge

The Hooghly river valley was the most important industrial area of the state of Bengal. Despite a decline of the

Greater Kolkata agglomeration
, the second biggest Indian city and the former capital.

In September 2015, the Government of West Bengal announced that renovation of the Hooghly riverfront in Kolkata will be completed with the help of World Bank funding under the National Ganga River Basin Project Scheme.[14]

Hooghly River in arts

Ganga Arati on the banks of the Hooghly river, Howrah
The Hooghly River from the Harvest Fields of Bengal, c. 1905
Hooghly River near Diamond Harbour

Literature

Rudyard Kipling wrote an article, On the Banks of the Hugli (1888),[15] and a short story set on the Hooghli, An Unqualified Pilot (1895).[16]

Cultural events

The Silk River project aims at exploring the artistic relationship between Kolkata and

Victoria Memorial, Kolkata on 17 December.[17][18]

Hooghly River, Calcutta by Francis Frith (taken 1850s-1870s)

Gallery

See also

References

  1. ^ The river is locally called Ganga because it is one of the two distributaries of the Ganges and is hence considered to be sacred. The Puranas call this arm of the Ganges, the Ganges itself. Some more modern sources, relying entirely on the scriptures, suggest that this river is the Ganga itself, 'Hoogly' being just a regional nickname. However, there is no scientific basis of this claim. 1, 2
  2. ^ The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica (5 August 2010). "Bhagirathi River". Britannica. Retrieved 3 June 2023.
  3. JSTOR 4298836
    .
  4. ^ "District". Voiceofbengal.com. Archived from the original on 11 November 2014. Retrieved 10 May 2012.
  5. ^ "Hugli River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Archived from the original on 5 June 2016. Retrieved 8 July 2016.
  6. ^ https://archive.org/details/ainiakbarivolum00mubgoog The Ain I Akbary Abul Fazl Allammi Vol-2, Translated by Colonel H.S.Jarrett published by The Asiatic Society of Bengal Printed at the Baptist Mission Press in 1891 Calcutta page-120.
  7. ^ https://cclpworldwide.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Hooghly-Jelar-Itihas-Sudhir-Kumar-Mitra.pdf Archived 23 March 2020 at the Wayback Machine Jelar Itihas Sudhir Kumar Mitra/ page no 792 (original book) internet page 806
  8. ^ Chakraborty, Satyesh C. "The Story of River Port". Kolkata Port Trust. Archived from the original on 2011-07-21. Retrieved 2007-12-10.
  9. ^ a b Helen Schreider; Frank Schreider (October 1960). "From The Hair Of Siva". National Geographic. 118 (4): 445–503.
  10. ISBN 978-1-4406-2327-1
    .
  11. ^ "What is the origin of holy river Ganga?". 20 March 2020. Archived from the original on 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  12. ^ a b "Three river bridges in WB to boost trade, highlight culture". The Indian Express. 6 October 2017. Archived from the original on 12 March 2018. Retrieved 12 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Kolkata Metro: 87 years on, boring re-creates CESC feat". The Times of India. 18 April 2017. Archived from the original on 22 September 2022. Retrieved 29 September 2022.
  14. ^ "World Bank to fund Hooghly riverfront revamp - Times of India". The Times of India. 3 September 2015. Archived from the original on 7 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  15. ^ "Chapter IV - City of Dreadful Night - From Sea to Sea - Rudyard Kipling, Book, etext". Telelib.com. 1 February 2003. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  16. ^ "An Unqualified Pilot - Land & Sea Tales - For Scouts and Guides - Rudyard Kipling, Book, etext". Telelib.com. 1 March 2003. Archived from the original on 5 April 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2013.
  17. ^ Chatterjee, Chandreyee (10 November 2016). "Exploring the River Connect". No. Kolkata. ABP. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2017.
  18. ^ Basu, Anasuya (21 July 2017). "River Walk to Boost Ties". No. Kolkata. ABP. The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 January 2018. Retrieved 21 July 2017.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to হুগলি নদী.

21°55′N 88°05′E / 21.917°N 88.083°E / 21.917; 88.083

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hooghly_River&oldid=1217076501"